Homework in the Elementary Grades 1 Title Page Submitted ...

[Pages:52]Homework in the Elementary Grades 1

Title Page Homework: A Nightly Ritual Beginning in the Elementary Grades

Ann-Marie N. Skaggs

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Education

School of Education Dominican University of California

San Rafael, CA August 2007

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Acknowledgements I would like to thank my professor, Dr. Madalienne Peters, for guiding me through this journey, for teaching me how to trust in myself in the work that I create, and for helping me accomplish an important achievement within my career. Thank you to Sarah Zykanov and Dr. Lin Muehlinghaus for offering words of wisdom and laughter when needed. To my friends, colleagues, and administrators for bringing this subject to my attention and encouraging me to find answers. To my supportive mother, Kathleen M. Nosek, for believing in me, trusting me, and always having faith in my journey to become a teacher. And to my wonderful husband, Jared Skaggs, for positively reinforcing my thinking and motivation, for if not for him, I would not be in the career where I happily am today.

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Table of Contents

TITLE PAGE.................................................................................................................................................................................... 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................................................................. 2

ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Statement of Problem........................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Purpose Statement ............................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Research Question ............................................................................................................................................................................ 6

THEORETICAL RATIONALE ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 Assumptions ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Background and Need....................................................................................................................................................................... 9

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE................................................................................................................................................. 12 Review of the Previous Research .................................................................................................................................................... 12

Early history............................................................................................................................................................................... 12 Are there different types of homework given? ............................................................................................................................ 16 Are there academic benefits to homework?................................................................................................................................ 20 Are there nonacademic benefits to homework? .......................................................................................................................... 21 Does parental involvement have an influence on homework?.................................................................................................... 22 Does socioeconomic status have an influence on homework?.................................................................................................... 24 Does the environment in which homework is completed influence students?............................................................................. 27 Does a student's culture have an influence on homework?........................................................................................................ 29 Does homework cause positive or negative psychological influences on students? ................................................................... 32 Does the amount of time spent on homework have an influence on students?............................................................................ 34 Do after school programs and the community have an influence on homework? ...................................................................... 36 How is teacher training related to homework? .......................................................................................................................... 39 Summary of Major Themes ............................................................................................................................................................. 41

DISCUSSION................................................................................................................................................................................. 42 Summary of Major Findings ........................................................................................................................................................... 42 Limitations/Gaps in the Literature.................................................................................................................................................. 43 Implications for Future Research ................................................................................................................................................... 45 Overall Significance of the Literature............................................................................................................................................. 46

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................................................... 49

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Abstract Homework has become an accepted staple within education in the United States. However, little is acknowledged regarding the influences homework has on students. The purpose of this extended literature review is to look at the influences of homework on students in the elementary grades. The following research on homework was found through books, peerreviewed journal articles, government reports, magazine articles, and interviews. Within the research, educational, socioeconomic, and parental factors shown the largest influence, both positive and negative toward homework. The author discusses future implications to better improve homework's influence on students in the elementary grades. These implications include a need for homework policies to be set up within school districts, individual schools, and classrooms. These policies must address students' individual needs.

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Introduction In the majority of schools in the United States homework is assigned to students as work to be completed at home, outside of the classroom, and returned to the teacher for credit. However, only about 35% of school districts have an actual homework policy set in place (Roderique, Polloway, Cumblad, Epstein, & Bursuck, 1994, p. 483). This causes teachers to assign homework based on their personal beliefs rather then basing it on research or policies. When sending homework home, seldom does the teacher take into account each student's physical, mental, and social influences that contribute to properly completing homework. In looking at one school district located in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is no official board policy on homework. Through the principal's want and need to adopt a homework policy, she has presented staff members with many articles on the topic of homework, specifically looking at the influences it has on children and whether it is necessary in the elementary grades. The principal hopes that the staff will come together as a team and form a consistent approach to assigning homework throughout the grade levels. With the rise in popularity of books on the difficulties of getting children to complete their homework, this is an approach many schools may be moving towards. Statement of Problem In the realm of education there is much controversy surrounding the area of homework in regards to whether it is beneficial or not to students. Cooper (2007) defines homework as: Tasks assigned to students by school teachers that are intended to be carried out during nonschool hours. The word intended is used because students may complete homework assignments during study hall, during library time (sanctioned by teachers), or even during subsequent classes (not sanctioned) (p. 4). The focus of this paper is on looking at the influences of homework on students in the elementary grades. These grades are defined as kindergarten through fifth grade.

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Purpose Statement The purpose of this extended literature review is to provide in-depth information on the

influences of homework to aid in determining whether homework is beneficial, impartial, or detrimental to students of all backgrounds in the elementary grades. A secondary purpose is to identify what approaches to homework need to be made to meet the student's individual needs in order to create a positive experience for the student. In addition, suggestions are given based on the research. It is suggested that school boards review their homework policy and make changes to benefit their students. Research Question

What are the influences of homework on students in the elementary grades? The research addresses a wide range of influences including educational, emotional, cultural, economic, parental, physical, and environmental.

Theoretical Rationale Two learning theories are closely associated with homework: Constructivism and the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Constructivism, one of the major learning theories, is the belief "that learners, having some prior knowledge and experience as a basis from which to test out their hypotheses, build their own set of content to solve a particular set of problems posed by the instructor" (Leonard, 2002, p. 37). Constructivism is about knowledge and how one learns (Fosnot, 1996, p. ix). Constructivism is based on a collaborative learning environment, meaning that it is not teacher based. Instead the teacher is more of a coach as the students make discoveries throughout the learning process. A constructivist view of learning implies a method to teaching in which the students come up with their own questions, strategies and tactics in the learning process while creating a meaningful experience (Fosnot, 1996, p. ix).

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A popular theorist in constructivism is Jean Piaget. In Piaget's development learning theory he explains that a students existing cognitive structures will change in order to understand what new events are occurring in the environment, and through assimilation the student then interprets the events through their existing cognitive structures (Leonard, 2002, p. 38). Therefore, in regard to homework students will use their existing knowledge of a subject to build further hypotheses and understandings at home in a learner-centered environment, in contrast to the teacher-centered environment at school.

As homework is an individual activity that is designed to be completed outside of school and away from the teacher, the students are encouraged to think, question, construct, and stratify on their own to further their thinking and knowledge of a subject. In relating this theory to homework, a project-based assignment would best fall in the category with constructivism as opposed to a more repetitious type of homework, such as studying math facts.

Repetition in homework would relate closer to the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Also known as Bloom's Taxonomy, the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives is the organization of educational goals in regards to the development of intelligences within three categories: the cognitive domain, the affective domain, and the psychomotor domain (Leonard, 2002, p. 190). The cognitive domain calls attention to mental processing, the affective domain relates to feelings and emotions, and the psychomotor domain relates to motor skills.

Bloom's Taxonomy, created by Benjamin Bloom and colleagues in the mid-1950s, is a "hierarchical system of order thinking skills" from lower cognitive skills to higher cognitive skills (as cited in Levels & Types, 2006). The lowest cognitive skill is labeled knowledge, which is information previously learned. Next is comprehension, followed by application. Comprehension is defined as student demonstration of understanding through the use of own

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words, and application is applying new information through a variety of ways. Analysis begins a higher order of thinking followed by synthesis, when pieces are combined to form a new meaning. Evaluation is the highest level in Bloom's Taxonomy in which a set of criteria is used to help arrive at a conclusion (Levels and Types, 2006).

In regards to the different types of homework that students bring home to complete, the levels of the taxonomy can be divided into lower level questioning and higher level questioning. Lower level questioning is found in the knowledge, comprehension, and simple application levels of the taxonomy (Levels and Types, 2006). Questions that fall into the level of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation would be considered to be more of a higher level questioning (Levels and Types, 2006). If necessary, Bloom's Taxonomy could be used to assess the type of homework students are given. Assumptions

Homework is given in many American elementary grade classrooms on a daily, weekly, and/or monthly basis. The reasons why teachers assign homework may vary. It may be given as an assessment of lessons learned in class, it could be an extension activity, it might be a way to teach new information that was not taught in class, it may be a review of information as a way to solidify the lesson taught, or it just might be a requirement set up by the school board. Regardless of the reasons why a teacher assigns homework there are many benefits to having students complete it. Homework teaches students responsibility for themselves by requiring the students to complete the work at home and return it to school on the date assigned. In addition homework also provides students with the skill of time management. The students are given a certain amount of time to complete an assignment and expected to hand it in on time. Not only do they need to be aware of due dates but they also need to be aware of the amount of time it will

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